TAP Air Portugal Announces Service to San Francisco Starting in June

TAP's first A330neo in Miami (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

TAP Air Portugal announced yesterday the addition of service to San Francisco from Lisbon starting in June 2019. This is the Portuguese flag carrier’s first West Coast destination in the United States and comes shortly following the announcement of new routes from Lisbon to Chicago and Washington. This will be the airline’s eighth North American gateway alongside the existing cities including New York, Toronto, and Miami.

TAP will fly five weekly year-round flights between San Francisco International Airport and Lisbon Portela Airport starting June 10, 2019. Flights are scheduled to operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, departing from Lisbon at 10:00 a.m. and arriving into San Francisco at 2:40 p.m. After an hour and a half on the ground in San Francisco, the return flight to Lisbon departs at 4:10 p.m. and arrives at 11:25 a.m. the following morning.

The route will feature TAP’s newest Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, which AirlineGeeks had an opportunity to fly on earlier in the year and toured at the delivery ceremony in Toulouse, France last month. The next generation aircraft will feature the airline’s new business class consisting of 34 Recaro CL6710 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, all with direct aisle access. The economy cabin is split into two with standard economy seats that offer 31 inches of pitch and EconomyXtra seats which feature 34 inches of pitch.

In addition, passengers are also eligible to take part in the Portugal Stopover program, which allows passengers connecting onwards on TAP flights to Europe and Africa to spend up to five nights in Lisbon or Porto between flights for no extra airfare. TAP is one of the few European airlines that offer the program in addition to airlines such as Icelandair, WOW air and Finnair, which serve Nordic countries.

David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue Airways and major shareholder in TAP, said that the airline is excited to keep adding new cities from the United States to Portugal, two countries with close ties. The country is turning out to a popular destination for U.S. travelers, thanks to the stopover program, along with being a key gateway for the region due to TAP’s 70+ destinations across Europe and Africa along with connections on other European Star Alliance partners.

Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn't working as an analyst he's frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile.